402 FRESH-WATER SHELL-HEAPS, ETC. 
mound. The first seems quite improbable. The water is 
not now known to rise above the lowest limit of the shells, 
nor in fact could it rise much beyond this, since the configu- 
ration of East Florida is such, that any unusual flow of water 
becomes at once spread out over the immense traets rising 
only a few inches above the level of the river. Nothing 
short of subsidence of the land could bring the water to the 
level of the highest of these strata. The second is the more 
probable, but in the absence of proof can only stand as a 
reasonable conjecture. 
In view of these facts the search for the evidence of man’s 
work was important, and especially as the mound had the 
appearance of great age. The whole front, in which all the 
objects were undisturbed, was therefore most carefully exam- 
ined, and with the following results : First, excepting within 
a few inches of the surface and in the vegetable mould, not & 
fragment of pottery was discovered ; second, a few bones of 
the deer, more or less broken, were found, and one of them 
burned; those of the soft-shelled turtle, alligator, and gar- 
pike, as also numerous fragments of charcoal, were ob 
at various depths between the top of the mound and the 
on which it rested. If to these we add an ornament 
made 
of bone, to be described farther on, we have the seanty evr 
dence derived from the materials, for the conclusion that the 
mound was built by man. Mr. Peabody, however, made an 
ion. He 
important discovery which confirms this conclus : 
just beneath 
served a piece of flint projecting from the sand 
and quite near to the lowest deposit of shells. 
remembered that in this part of Florida flint 
rally occur, in fact that there is nothing but san 
even pebbles are seldom seen. Before the flint was 
we both carefully examined all the surroundings; 
d in wi 
removed, 
jimbe 
satisfied that the flint and the sand in which it was we 
had not been disturbed since the mound was pee 
front of the mound was vertical, the section was Tee’ 
the small talus which forms below it is constant 
tained 
eand 
It is tobe 
does not nati- — 
and were — 
ly removed: ; 




